Production & Operations Manager
Georgia Custom Cabinets, LLC | Suwanee, GA
Full-Time | Salaried Management Role
Target Compensation: $80,000–$100,000 base salary, with total compensation potential of $90,000–$125,000 for the right person
About Us
Georgia Custom Cabinets is a growing custom cabinet shop in Suwanee, Georgia. We build high-quality residential and commercial cabinetry for designers, contractors, builders, and select homeowners.
We are not the cheapest shop, and we are not trying to be. Our reputation is built on quality, craftsmanship, and doing the work the right way. We are looking for a strong Production & Operations Manager who can help turn that craftsmanship into consistent, accountable, profitable execution.
This is a key leadership role in the company. We are willing to pay for the right person, but we are looking for someone who can truly improve the way the shop runs.
Position Summary
The Production & Operations Manager is responsible for leading day-to-day shop execution, directly managing shop personnel, enforcing production standards, improving schedule reliability, reducing rework, and helping the team produce high-quality work on time.
This is a hands-on management role in a custom cabinet environment. The right person must understand cabinetry, production flow, quality control, finishing readiness, delivery, installation realities, and how to lead tradespeople with clarity and accountability.
This role is not just about being a strong cabinetmaker. It is about managing people, protecting quality, keeping employees motivated and productive, improving production flow, and helping the business deliver profitable work.
Key Responsibilities
- Directly manage shop production personnel
- Lead the daily production meeting
- Assign daily work based on approved production priorities
- Keep employees focused, productive, and accountable throughout the day
- Track progress against the production schedule
- Identify blockers early and make sure they are resolved or escalated
- Confirm jobs are production-ready before work begins
- Enforce stage gates for production release, assembly quality control, finish readiness, finish quality control, delivery readiness, and install readiness
- Ensure cabinets are built to approved drawings, specifications, and quality standards
- Reject incomplete or defective work before it moves downstream
- Send defective work back to the appropriate station for correction
- Coordinate CNC, edgebanding, assembly, finishing, delivery, and install readiness
- Monitor labor productivity, rework, quality issues, and schedule performance
- Help maintain accurate production status in company tracking systems
- Support purchasing and material readiness by identifying missing materials, hardware, and consumables early
- Help maintain a clean, organized, safe, and productive shop
- Coach employees and reinforce standards for attendance, pace, quality, attitude, and follow-through
- Document employee performance issues when needed
- Participate in hiring, training, coaching, discipline, and termination recommendations
- Communicate clearly with ownership about risks, delays, staffing needs, schedule concerns, and process improvements
Decision Authority
This role directly manages shop production personnel.
The Production & Operations Manager will have authority to:
- Assign and redirect shop labor within approved production priorities
- Require daily status updates from shop personnel
- Stop work when drawings, materials, quality, or safety are not ready
- Reject work that does not meet quality standards
- Send defective work back for correction
- Escalate schedule risks before they become emergencies
- Document performance issues
- Recommend discipline or termination when needed
- Participate in hiring decisions
- Recommend overtime or staffing adjustments
- Approve small purchases within company guidelines
Ownership will set business priorities and approve major decisions. The Production & Operations Manager will be responsible for turning those priorities into daily execution in the shop.
Customer communication will generally remain with Sales or Ownership, but this role will provide production status, schedule risk, and technical input as needed.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this role means the shop runs better because you are there.
Within the first 90 days, we expect to see:
- A reliable daily production meeting
- Clear daily work assignments
- Better schedule visibility
- Employees staying more focused and productive throughout the day
- Earlier communication of blockers
- Fewer surprises at finishing, delivery, and install
- Better accountability for attendance, pace, quality, and follow-through
- Reduced rework
- Cleaner handoffs between CNC, edgebanding, assembly, finishing, delivery, and install
- Better morale and less drama in the shop
- Less owner involvement in routine shop management
- A shop culture that is productive, honest, and solution-focused
Long-term success means jobs are delivered more predictably, quality improves, employees know what is expected, and the company protects profit by reducing waste, delays, rework, and chaos.
Required Experience
- Custom cabinetry, millwork, casework, woodworking, construction production, or similar hands-on production experience
- Prior experience managing, leading, or directly supervising production employees
- Ability to read and interpret cabinet drawings
- Understanding of cabinet construction, assembly, finishing readiness, and installation challenges
- Ability to keep employees focused, motivated, and accountable
- Ability to hold people accountable without yelling, blaming, or creating drama
- Strong communication and follow-through
- Reliable attendance and professional conduct
- Practical problem-solving ability
- Comfort using basic digital tools for job tracking, checklists, and communication
Preferred Experience
- Experience as a Production Manager, Shop Manager, Operations Manager, Working Foreman, Lead Carpenter, Millwork Manager, or similar role
- CNC and edgebander familiarity
- Cabinet installation experience
- Experience with Mozaik or similar cabinet software
- Experience with high-end residential cabinetry
- Experience with commercial casework or PLAM
- Experience managing punch lists, rework, labor productivity, quality control, and production schedules
- Experience improving a shop, crew, or production team that was underperforming
Who This Is Not For
This role is not a fit for someone who:
- Wants the title but not the responsibility
- Avoids hard conversations
- Needs ownership to make every daily decision
- Complains more than they solve
- Blames every problem on employees, customers, or owners
- Thinks quality and schedule cannot coexist
- Refuses to use checklists, job tracking, or production systems
- Believes experience alone is a substitute for leadership
- Cannot earn the respect of skilled tradespeople
- Is unwilling to document issues, follow up, and hold people accountable
Compensation
This is a key management role, and we are willing to pay for the right person.
Target compensation is expected to be $80,000–$100,000 base salary, depending on experience, leadership ability, and proven ability to manage production teams.
A performance-based bonus may be available, with total compensation potential of $90,000–$125,000 for a strong operator who can improve schedule reliability, shop productivity, quality control, rework reduction, team accountability, and overall execution.
Final compensation and classification will be based on the candidate’s experience, actual job duties, authority, and applicable wage-and-hour requirements.
Schedule
This is a full-time management role.
Our current shop schedule has been Monday–Thursday, 6:00 AM–4:30 PM, with occasional Friday overflow. We are evaluating whether a Monday–Friday schedule would better support production consistency.
Because this is a management role, the Production & Operations Manager must be available when needed to support daily startup, production execution, schedule recovery, and shop accountability.
Work Environment
This role is based in our cabinet shop in Suwanee, Georgia. The work environment includes active woodworking equipment, cabinet assembly, finishing coordination, material handling, delivery preparation, and occasional field/install coordination.
The Production & Operations Manager must be comfortable working around shop equipment, production employees, materials, deadlines, and the normal challenges of a custom cabinet environment.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a calm, practical leader who knows how to get work done through people.
You are organized, direct, fair, and steady under pressure. You understand that custom work requires problem-solving, but you also know that “custom” cannot be an excuse for chaos. You can read drawings, understand production flow, spot quality problems, and keep people moving without babysitting them.
You care about craftsmanship, but you also care about schedule, communication, profitability, and accountability.
You do not need to be the loudest person in the room. You do need to be the person who brings clarity, discipline, and follow-through.
How to Apply
Please send:
- Your resume or work history
- A short summary of your cabinetry, millwork, construction, production, or operations management experience
- Examples of teams, crews, or shop personnel you have managed
- Examples of production, quality, schedule, or team improvements you have led
- Your compensation expectations
- Your availability to start
Applicants with photos of past cabinetry, millwork, shop, or install work are encouraged to include them.
Pay: $80,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
